Thursday 8 August 2019

Nuts


It's hazelnut season here in our little corner of the world. On our morning walks you can actually hear the squirrels gnawing away at them above your head. They frequently drop them down as you go past. It makes me wonder if they're throwing them at us sometimes. Bert doesn't approve of squirrels. With the absence of school children in the mornings there seem to be more of them about the place, teasing him with their swishy tails and their fat cheeks. I live in fear of him catching one, although I suspect he'd freak out if he got too close and just bark at it and run away instead. He's not in the least bit brave and intrepid. His best friend is, but he tends to stand on the sidelines however much she encourages him. There's a pool on our morning walk, and although he might have a very light paddle in a shallow bit of the stream, she likes to jump right in to the deepest bit. He says to her, Don't do it, it doesn't look safe to me, and she steams past him at a hundred miles an hour going STAND WELL BACK, I'M GOING IN. We are all different.

Slight technical hiccups behind the scenes here. I messed up my photo card with all the photos of the littlest boy doing his end of term things. I also lost all my phone contacts. I tried my usual fix of Turning It Off Then Turning It Back On Again, but had to result to the failsafe method of finding a teenager to do it for me. The biggest boy is slowly putting everything right and tutting at my poor technological organisation and lack of, well, I don't know really, but apparently I am doing everything wrong and I don't have any of the apps that would revolutionise my life. This may be where I've going wrong all this time. Thank goodness for digital natives to show us the way.

On the reading front I have been enjoying Sex, Lies, and Handwriting by Michelle Dresbold.


Really fascinating, although from early chapters it seems I may be paranoid and delusional, very much in the manner of L. Ron Hubbard, also with possible felon claws in my writing and maybe even the odd strangler stroke. To be fair the book mostly seems to deal with violent criminals and corrupt politicians, so there aren't many paragons of virtue to compare myself to, although I must admit my writing is nothing like Mother Teresa's, or even Michelle Dresbold's mum. So who knows what I may be capable of if pushed to the limit. The summer holidays will be the time to test it all out.

12 comments:

  1. I live in the US. Wonder what your handwriting expert would make of Donald Trump's very strange signature - always done with something like a magic marker? And I love those Elly Griffiths books!

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  2. I have a love/hate relationship with squirrels. I love watching them boinging round the garden but hate it when they force themselves inside my 'squirrel-proof' bird feeders and scoff all the food. They also know just the right moment to pinch my strawberries when they're at the perfect stage of ripeness; I don't get a look in. I love the Elly Griffiths book and the handwriting one sounds intriguing. Goodness knows what it would make of mine, it's abysmal. xx

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  3. Teenagers have their uses. Maybe you should hire him out for technical help and stuff :)

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  4. I'm hoping that the squirrels leave us some cobnuts as the trees are loaded this year surely enough for them to share.

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  5. It’s amazing how our children like to tut at us in a superior way. Thank goodness they are there for us when it comes to technology. It should be interesting when I’m in my 90’s and they are still trying to explain where I’ve gone wrong. I’ll be interested on your opinions about the Elly Griffiths book. Still loving your dahlia. Definitely dahlia envy here :) B x

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  6. Your comments about Bert had me smiling. I'm sure that biggest boy will soon sort you out tech-wise.
    Happy reading, and enjoy the weekend. xx

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  7. Thank goodness for young people when it comes to technology.. but I have to lead the way here with our Apple phone, iPad and MacBood Pros and teach my husband how to deal with them. I'm kind of a techie nerd I guess. I loved the story of Bertie and his water exploits. We're taking Mocha up to the lake next weekend and it will be fun to see how she like the water. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  8. Dear CJ, what a beautiful photo of a dahlia flower. Just lovely. Your writing reminded me of the times I realised that my daughter knew I had feet of clay. One of the most memorable was when she was about 16 or 17 and had been out with friends all day and did not own a phone back then. My husband and I had gone out and arrived home at a reasonable hour to find a very cross young miss with both hands on her hips as she waited for us as we opened the front door. "And where have you two been?, she asked in a very superior parental tone. And what do you think it is, ariving home at this hour of the night? I held onto my husband's arm for support and got a fit of the giggles. One day I will remind her of her parental arrogance if she ever has a teenager tut tutting her. Please give Bertie a pat from me. Regards, Robyn

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  9. Ack...blogger just ate my comment.

    In short: squirrels are a nuisance, I think Bertie is very brave (I'm just a paddler myself) and technology problems are of a hand-wringing/hair-pulling level of frustration.

    Oh, and gorgeous dahlia!! xoxo

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  10. I noticed hazelnuts on the ground yesterday when I was out on my run. No obvious squirrel activity though. I don't want to alarm you in any way but my mum's dachshund brought a squirrel home once after an escape.... The squirrels in my garden live in fear of Jack but they don't seem to be able to resist the pull of the catnip plant. It is most amusing actually, the squirrels get all high and then roll around in a large tub that I had planned to plant salad in (but never got around to). I hope you get all your photos and contacts back. Thank goodness for digital natives. Have a lovely week xx

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  12. I am regularly handing my phone over to Bella so that she can sort things out for me. It's less humiliating than having to get John to do it somehow. Ziggy goes completely mental when he sees a squirrel, just off the scale ridiculous - pulling on the lead, barking his head off. The squirrels look on unconcerned. That dahlia is stunning by the way.

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